Immigrant Rights

Immigrants have broad, constitutional rights

The Bill of Rights does not grant foreigners the right to enter the United States, but once here, immigrants are entitled to certain, broad protections. These include the right to be treated fairly in court, to free speech and religious freedom, and to be protected from discrimination based on race or national origin.

Combating Public and Private Discrimination of Immigrants

The ACLU has a long history of challenging the serious civil rights violations faced by immigrant communities. Here in San Diego, that work has been going since 1933.

Right now, our country is in the midst of a major debate over immigrants and their place in our economic and political life. As during other dark times in our history, immigrants are blamed for causing or contributing to the social, economic, and political ills of our society. Politicians from both major parties have promoted a range of punitive legislative proposals that single out immigrants for adverse treatment by the government. Many of these proposals violate basic civil liberties and civil rights principles.

The fundamental constitutional protections of due process and equal protection embodied in our Constitution and Bill of Rights apply to every person, regardless of immigration status. When the government has the power to deny these basic rights to one vulnerable group, everyone’s rights are at risk.

The ACLU is dedicated to expanding and enforcing the civil liberties and civil rights of immigrants, and combating public and private discrimination against them.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 26, 2018CONTACT: Micah McCoy, (972) 740-6675 or [email protected]
ALBUQUERQUE, NM - Today the ACLU of New Mexico responded to the tragic death of another immigrant child... Read More

[caption id="attachment_15487" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Norma Chavez-Peterson, executive director of the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties speaking at a November 19th event at the Saint Jude Shrine of the... Read More

At a press conference convened today by the San Diego Rapid Response Network, ACLU-SDIC Executive Director, Norma Chávez-Peterson delivered the following statement: Good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today for... Read More